Visions of a Psychic
by AlyssaLies28
Summary: When Kuwabara begins to see a grisly vision repeatedly, can he figure out what to do to stop it from happening before it's too late? Or will it even matter in the end? Botan has the answers, but is she friend of foe?


_This started off based on one tiny little fact from psychology that morphed into Kuwabara having one crazy ass experience. I've also been working on not wandering off with my plots, so here to some kinda improvement!_

He couldn't shake this feeling. It was a constant ache; like having the need to crack his back, but his spine wouldn't budge. For the past hour his body'd been cycling through panic attacks; building up with a racing heart and short breath. Then the trembles would overtake his body, which in turn triggered the overwhelming dizzy feeling pounding through his head; it kinda felt like he'd fall to the floor in a full out seizure. Kuwabara's fits escaladed until tears were pouring down his face before peaking after ten minutes and climbing back down with the shakes. He was drenched in sweat with a headache from Hell and he couldn't understand what it was his brain wasn't grasping that his body obviously knew.

Kuwabara made his unsteady way down the busy sidewalk, bumping into people without conscious thought as he struggled to make sense of what was happening. As he passed by a store front he pulled up short. The lime green flyer for a dog walking services grabbed his attention. More than that, the gaudy paper was commanding his attention to the point that everything else seemed to fall away.

The sense of his surrounding changed from being on a busy street midday, to being outside a darkened, abandoned warehouse. Polluted water hung thick in the hair. A gently breeze blew through Kuwabara's hair and ruffled the same business flyer Kuwabara'd been staring at. With a mighty shudder, the image of the warehouse flicker. Like when a radio powered up on max volume, the sounds of shopping and cars driving by slammed against his eardrums and drilled into his head. Looking around, Kuwabara was blinded by the bright sunlight as the busy street he was on came back into focus.

Something bad was happening. Or going to happen. Kuwabara'd only had a handful of visions before. They were usually so subtle that he didn't even know they'd been visions until the event he'd seen had already come to pass. Kuwabara gave a roll of his thickly corded shoulders, trying to displace the sense of foreboding as he began to make a beeline for home. Rubbing hard at his eyes, Kuwabara wished the things would stop playing the part of a time bomb and just go ahead and explode into a full blown migraine instead of the rhythmic _thud, thud, thudding_ of the headache he had now.

If his past premonitions were anything to go by, then the vision is only going to get worse and worse, dragging his spirit more into the future than anyone's was supposed to be while his body remained defenseless where he'd left it. The last time this'd happened, Yusuke'd managed to possess his body and run all over the town getting him all beat to shit in various gang fights. When Kuwabara'd come to, his body was aching and the image of a battered Yusuke being shoot to death by a bullet of light would not leave his mind.

Of course he just assumed he was trying to put a more badass twist to Urameshi's death. Having to relive that vision was nearly a death sentence for Kuwabara as well; it killed him to see the punk he'd come to see as a juggernaut of defiance fall before him; again. Guilt like no other (more so than the time he'd accidently stepped on Eikichi's tail) fueled Kuwabara's rage, helping him to tear through the dimensional barrier separating their team from its fallen leader.

Kuwabara hugged his stomach as he felt the next panic wave creeping up on him. Blindly he stumbled into the mouth of a darkened alleyway, hoping its ominous depths would protecting him from the wondering eyes of those beating feet on the sidewalk not far from him. Rough grim covered bricks barely registered to Kuwabara as he slid listlessly down the alley wall behind the festering piles of garbage around him. One by one his senses were replaced from his surroundings in the alleyway to that by the docks as he was pulled into his vision. This time the heady scent of blood accompanied the wavering image that drilled itself into his brain, playing like an old movie film.

He was back at the same warehouse, the lurid flyer fluttering in the gentle wind sweeping through Kuwabara's loose ginger curls. As if under a spell, he was compelled forward, around the side of the decrepit building, through a vacant doorway, and into a dank, dark open room. Only the image of a blood-strewn floor registered in Kuwabara's mind before his conscious slammed back into the present with dizzying force.

Kuwabara could barely take one breathe before leaning over to the side a hurling up the late lunch he and Keiko'd had earlier. Orange juice tasted fantastic going down, but coming back up the shit burned through his throat and managed to sting its way in his nose a bit. The lingering acidic tang the regurgitated juice left made Kuwabara gag and dry heave.

Something had to be seriously wrong for him to be as affected as he was by his visions. And the visions themselves were a cause for worry in their unusual intensity. Kuwabara shakily wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. He cast his mind about trying to make sense of the visionary build up, trying to see the end so he could just fix whatever is was and get a goodnights sleep. Maybe that was the problem, why he was so physically apart of the premonition. It was only the night before that Kuwabara and the others had gotten back from one of their more brutal missions. Aches and pains were still lit up like beacons around his body, the worse being the large black and purple bruise on his left should from where he'd been thrown by a demon several hundred yards into a solid stone wall. Of course the wall had crumbled on impact and Kuwabara's shoulder just about damn well did too. Kuwabara wiggled the fingers of his right hand, feeling the tremble of pain shoot down his arm and back.

Kuwabara took a deep, steady breath, holding it in as his closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the gritty brick wall. With a great sigh he pushed himself up onto his feet, stumbling a little from the sudden vertigo, and began a fast pace to his and Shizuru's apartment just three more blocks away. What he really wanted was to make it through the down before he was hit with another psychic wave of images. Even more than that, Kuwabara wanted a bath. With nice smelling bath salts. Honeysuckle was good. Very summery. And he wanted a candle lit bath!

The thoughts of his longed for bath were marred as the bloodied warehouse floor flashed before his eyes. Kuwabara frowned. He knew with the amount of blood he'd seen, the person who lost that vital bodily liquid would be dead. And the only way to get that mass amount of blood from one person in a single go was through decapitation. Kuwabara rubbed at his neck wincing as he pulled his keys outta his pocket and opened up the front door. He toed off his shoes and threw down his wallet in the entrance hall. Pity washed through him for the unknown person as he padded towards his room in his sock clad feet. He'd barely lain out across his bed before Shizuru barged into his room puffing away on a cigarette. For a moment, the siblings merely stared at each other, taking one another in, before Shizuru spoke up.

"Just checking on you," she said, cigarette dangling from her mouth.

"You feeling it too?" said Kuwabara, sitting up on the edge of his bed.

"Yeah. Feels like something major's gonna happen." Shizuru flicked the ash of her cigarette onto Kuwabara's floor. She leaned against his doorway, giving him an appraising look. Kuwabara stared back, trying to hide from her that he was doing a Hell of a lot more than just 'feeling' and that he was starting to freak about it. Shizuru nodded to his shoulder. "How you holding up?"

Kuwabara shrugged his shoulder, ignoring the little trill of pain. "You feeling something's doing with me?"

Shizuru sighed, one arm wrapped around her waist in a hug while her other rested idling on her collarbone, waiting for her to take another puff from the slowly burning cigarette tucked between her two fingers. She cast a lost look out Kuwabara's window before softly saying, "It's going to be one of us."

Kuwabara knew that by 'us', Shizuru meant that it could be any one of them that was tangled in the whole spirit world drama. The image of the warehouse flooded his mind. He really hoped that his sister was wrong, though he knew she never had been before. Kuwabara watched his sister stare vacantly out the window into the pink and orange sky of the setting sun. Shizuru was so distracted by her own thoughts on her feeling that she only noticed her cigarette was burnt out when the heat of the paper licked at her fingers. It was tantamount to how disturbed she was that she left without badgering Kuwabara about the schoolwork he needed to get done.

Kuwabara sat in silence.

He was avidly working against imagining Yusuke or Yukina sprawled in that pool of blood.

Sitting in his room alone, hours passed by Kuwabara without a further vision crushing over him and he started to gain more confidence in going about his usual business. After the first forty-five minutes, he pulled out his textbooks, focusing mostly on his calculus. Derivatives were kicking his ass and the upcoming test was waiting to fuck with his mind.

He stared longingly at his calculator. It was a fairly advanced calculating tool, though a few years old having previously belonged to his sister. Kuwabara remembered seeing some of his classmates actually playing games on their own calculator, though he didn't know to do that on his. He ran a calloused finger over the screen, wiping away some of the smudges there. It was at times like this he wished he wasn't so noble; that his honor code wasn't damn well one of the most fundamental parts of him. He desperately wanted to program his calculator to spit out the answers to any problem he typed in. There were several people in his class that were able to afford buying the lasted graphing calculator, that did so much more that just graph coordinates. Kuwabara had looked at them before and they automatically did what he was so tempted to rig his calculator to do. It was basically cheating, and he didn't understand why the teacher was allowing it. With a sigh, Kuwabara redirected his attention back to his opened textbook, scribbling out problems and struggling to get through them.

Having steadily worked through a good three hours of studying, Kuwabara's head was throbbing for a break. He stood from his desk and stretched out his muscles, slowly rolling his back, working the kinks out of his spine. Reaching up he grasped the back of his skull with one hand and the other went around to palm his chin. With a quick jerk to the side Kuwabara cracked his neck, before repeating the process to the other side. He gave a great sigh as he felt his body sag from relief; the tension holding his body tight evaporating.

Kuwabara walked into the kitchen, still rolling his shoulders to work out his stiff muscles. In an offhanded note to himself, Kuwabara thought he would have to call on Hiei for their bimonthly sparring match. He may be a fulltime student, but he was also a fulltime asskicker and he couldn't disappoint all the odd idiotic demons he helped keep at bay.

Shizuru sat at the table, fidgeting in her seat. Cupped in her hands was a cold cup of coffee, steadily working its way into becoming an iceberg. As per usual, a lazy stream of smoke drifted up from the cigarette absentmindedly wedged between her fingers. Her worried gaze out the window remained unbroken by her brother's entrance. It was only when Kuwabara asked her the same question twice that she responded.

"Huh?" she said distractedly.

"You want something to eat or not?" Kuwabara asked for the third time, a hint of irritation creeping into his voice.

Shizuru blinked slowly as if she was confused by what Kuwabara was asking her. "Yeah. Yeah, that's fine."

"You still got that feeling?" said Kuwabara. He pulled a skillet from underneath the counter and sat it on the stovetop. Twisting the dial, fire sprang up to lick at the bottom of the cookware before he carefully reeled back in the flames for a low heat.

"Worse," Shizuru said in a hoarse voice. Kuwabara's recently relaxed body seized up again at hearing the pained undertones in his sister's voice. He looked to her over one of his thickly corded shoulders and saw her clutching at her stomach. She shook her head in tight little motions; eyes clenched shut as she bent double. "It feels like I'm dying inside," she sobbed.

Completely ignoring the hot stovetop, Kuwabara rushed to his sister's side. Another choked sob rocked her body before Kuwabara kneeled down and took her in his powerful arms, careful to snub out her flaring cigarette on the table already pockmarked with similar small scorches. Fear threatened to break him as he remembered the warehouse vividly. The blood on the floor couldn't belong to Shizuru. He'd never let harm come to her in that way. He fought to protect her. He always had. First from their deranged mother, who'd play sick games on Shizuru; then from the local street punks looking to get friendly with his sister in the most barbaric of ways.

Shizuru clung to her brother, seeking shelter in his strength like when she was younger and his was the only kindness she knew.

"I won't let that happen," Kuwabara said fiercely. Shizuru swallowed thickly, nodding numbly. Kuwabara squeezed her more tightly, willing her to believe in his words and for her to understand he would protect her at all costs. "I won't," he said with a gently kind of promise.

Shizuru snaked her arms under his and reached up to his shoulders, careful to avoid the sore spot still there. "I know," she murmured. A small squeeze of her hands accompanied her words of acknowledgment.

At that moment Kuwabara felt a surge in spirit energy that shook him to the core. He gasped, head snapping in the direction he felt pulled to. To a lesser degree, Shizuru shivered from the spike and followed Kuwabara's lead and stared at the front door. Both tried to see what was happening through the solid wooden panels.

"That's Urameshi. Has to be. This is it," said Kuwabara. He stood from his sister, taking a few steps away from her. A breath passed before Shizuru fully understood what her brother had said. She gasped, snatching at Kuwabara's hand with both of hers.

"Don't go. Please, Kazuma, don't go," she pleaded at once. She gripped his hand more firmly and tugged on it.

"I have to. Something major's doing if Urameshi's all flared up like this. He needs me," said Kuwabara .

"_He does not need you!_," Shizuru said viscously. "He's plenty stronger than you! He can handle himself!"

Kuwabara flinched at her harsh words. A shadow lurked behind his eyes, deadening his already dark gaze with the truth her plead carried. He took his hand from hers gently. He loved his sister too much to be bothered by the lost look on her tear lined face as he walked to the door.

He paused at the door. "I said I'd protect you. _Me_. Not him." Kuwabara opened his way outside. A blast of hot air so humid it stole his breath away momentarily assaulted him. With a last glance back he said a breathy, "Stay here," before disappearing.

Terror tore through Shizuru. She knew, _absolutely knew_, that her gallant brother was running right into the thick of that bad feeling. Shizuru steeled herself, pushing aside all the fear and uncertainty and sheer _panic_ until all she could feel was the unquenchable need to defend her Kuzuma no matter the cost.

"Like Hell I will," she growled and tore off after Kuwabara. That's how they did things. The two looked after each other, no matter what. Shizuru followed the pull in her chest, latching onto his spirit signature and tailing him down to the docks. She it all the way to the apartment's lobby before having to run back up their apartment, shutting off the stove and actually closing the door on her way out.

Halfway to his destination, Kuwabara was met by a frenzied Yusuke, demon markings inked onto his skin as he ran along. He had a maddened look in his eyes that forced a shudder down Kuwabara's spine.

"They got her Kuwabara!" he growled. "Some lowlife demon shits got Keiko."

Kuwabara didn't bother with a reply. He couldn't bring himself to tell Yusuke they were going to be late. That by the time they got to the harbor, they'd be greeted with the sight of dearly loved spilled blood. He drove himself to run harder, fueling his speed with spirit energy to keep pace with Yusuke. Kurama and Hiei jumped in on either side of them, silently joining Yusuke's hunt without seeming to need or want any information. They were a team, backing each other up whenever the need arose.

When they arrived at the harbor, Kuwabara's three companions rushed by him as he pulled to a stop starring at a warehouse he'd almost overlooked. What had caught his attention was the green flyer fluttering in the wind from the sea. While Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama tore through the complex toward the powerful demonic energy rippling through the area, Kuwabara moved towards this wayward building, breathing in the brine coated air.

Like in his visions, Kuwabara walked around to the side alley. The urgency he'd felt moments ago vanished. He walked with a calm purpose through the crumbling doorway. Instead of the blood splayed across the floor like he'd seen in his visions, Kuwabara came across an entirely different scene.

In the middle of the room stood a low class demon; he was the exact color of the flyer hanging outside, his skin a hard, scaly thing that was grotesque to look at. His eyes were captivating though, dispelling all traces of ugliness from his person with their glowing bright purple irises. The demon smiled at Kuwabara. Kuwabara's heart skipped a beat with joy.

He glared back. "Let her go," he said firmly.

The demon only grinned wider. He laid his head in the crook of Keiko's neck, sniffing along her skin. Keiko shook visibly from her place pressed back to chest with the demon. Her panic eyes bore into Kuwabara's as the demon pressed a deadly looking curved hand blade to her exposed throat, drawing a trickle of blood. Kuwabara took one lunging step forward his empty hand outstretched in an attempt to show the demon he wasn't fucking with him.

"Kazuma Kuwabara," the demon drawled out on a strange accent. "How I've longed to meet you! One of the only essences in existence with the ability to rip through space."

"Yeah, that's me. Special, I am. That's why you should let her go, so I can come up close and we can talk about all sorts of things I can _rip_."

The demon threw his head back with a mighty laugh. Keiko squeaked when the blade dragged across her throat a little, cutting a deep red line. Kuwabara sucked in a fearful breath. Finally, the demon calmed, smiling with an almost perverse mirth.

"Why would we talk about what you already know you can do? I'm here to test whether or not you can do something new. "

"So why you need Keiko for that. She's Urameshi's girl not mine."

The demon shrugged, not caring as he marked up Keiko's neck. "A catalyst, really. You are the one in control of these games."

Eyes watching for any sign of movement, Kuwabara risked a small step forward. The demon merely smiled at his cautious actions as if he were encouraging a toddler to continue exploring his new environment.

"A person's life is not a game," Kuwabara argued gaining a few more steps.

The demon stared at Kuwabara for a moment. Then suddenly, he removed the blade from against Keiko's throat, tossing her to his feet. Smiling crazily, the demon shuffled away from her. "I'd back up if you want to save her," he advised.

Kuwabara ignored the nonsensical warnings of the demon and dashed forward to Keiko's slumped form. Crashing to his knees Kuwabara fumbled through the blood coating her neck to find her pulse. A sigh of reassurance huffed up as he found a strong, if not slightly raced, heartbeat.

"You have played the game wrongly," the demon breathed into Kuwabara's ear. The ginger stiffened at the unexpected presence. "But if you play again, you'll win for sure."

The demon walked to the door at a brisk pace, stopping to the side of it and hanging in the shadows. "Remember, you brought her here."

Kuwabara was still trying to comprehend this last confusing statement, when a figure appeared in the doorway. Shizuru paused as if taking in the scene before her. She stumbled through with a smile on her face. "Kazuma," she said breathlessly, winded from her flight after her brother.

Before Kuwabara could do more than wildly throw his arm out to his sister, the demon stepped up behind Shizuru, grabbing a great fistful of her brown bangs, and yanking her head back. Blood gushed from the clean swipe the demon made clear through Shizuru's throat.

Kuwabara's scream of horror glued itself in his throat as if it were trying to mend the damage done to his sister. He could see the small whimsical smile frozen on her face mingling with the mask of death. Though her body remained standing and her head had yet to wobble off, he could see her death blossoming before his eyes. Dazzling white-blue light misted around Shizuru; the life that only seconds ago brightened her brown eyes was now seeping from her every pore. Her soul began to condense from its vaporized form into a replica of her physical self. It was the look of confused recognition and automatic acceptance on her soulful face, coupled with the regretful tuttering of the twisted demon beside Shizuru's falling dead body that drove Kuwabara into action.

With a roar wrought with a heart clenching combination of grief, rage, and utter insanity Kuwabara willed his spirit energy into his palm. Instead of the usual raggedy orange sword, a small dagger appeared in his hand. Sharp and clean-cut to the point of being surreal, the spirit dagger of the same blinding soul light spilling from his sister. Kuwabara stared in amazement at this new addition to his arsenal. The weapon was _breathing_; it shifted continuously ebbing and flowing with every hitched breath Kuwabara drew. Kuwabara had never felt like he did now; like he was two separate beings, existing as himself yet also waiting to strike out with the deadly edge of his blade. With a jolt, he understood that he wasn't holding a spirit dagger, but a _soul_ dagger. While he still felt like himself, with all the same drives and emotions as usual, he could also feel a large part of himself resting in the palm of his hand.

Kuwabara tensed. In his new wonderment he'd grown oblivious to his surrounds, but the deafening silence bore into his ear and brought about his attention. Kuwabara looked up numbly. What he saw repulsed him, sent a chill of horrified disgust to his already battered heart.

Everything was still, frozen in place in one instance of time like a badly taken, macabre photo. Kuwabara sobbed at the sight of his sister's body suspended mid-fall. Globs of blood hung in the air between her severed neck, her head several inches away, and the already bloodied floor. The floor was a familiar sight to Kuwabara, having already seen the picture in his mind. Shizuru's soul was arched out to him, longing to aid in his unbearable grief. The act was so like his sister, Kuwabara could barely breathe. A rush of anger hit him as he spied the demon beside her. A manic, open mouthed laugh was frozen on his garish face, his hypnotic eyes stared straight into Kuwabara's with such intensity that Kuwabara thought he would come to life. Without looking Kuwabara could sense Keiko was slumped behind him, unmoving like the rest. Just beyond the open doorframe, Kuwabara glimpsed the very tips of Urameshi's fingers. He too was frozen in what Kuwabara guessed was a mad dash to the door. He had no doubt that if he bothered to investigate, he would find Kurama and Hiei in much the same position not too far behind Yusuke.

Kuwabara's gaze flickered back to his sister. The desire to see Shizuru in a more dignified, whole position had barely entered his mind, before the scene before his suddenly rewound itself. He watched in reverse as Shizuru flew back into a standing position, blood flowing back into her, the demon's blade slide across her neck, healing her wound. Then the demon retreated back into the shadows as Shizuru stumbled back to the doorway. Again, everything became still once more.

"Oh," Kuwabara said on a gasp. His eyes were peeled back in shock. Warmth and love burst into his chest at seeing his sister safe and alive. He lunged to his feet, stumbling a little from the overwhelming amount of delirious happiness he felt from Shizuru's resurrection. Before he could take more than two steps toward her, a voice from the shadows beside him interrupted.

"Kuwabara. Stop."

Turning to the familiar voice, Kuwabara watched as Botan materialized from the darkness her brightly colored kimono and hair blaringly standoutish in the drab warehouse. The two stared into each other's eyes, Kuwabara's struggling to make sense of the situation and Botan's set with an uncharacteristic hardness. He didn't ask why Botan was here, he already knew.

"She's still alive. She's alive. _You have no soul to take_," Kuwabara hissed.

Botan didn't flinch at her friend's harsh tone. She merely looked around the room with a stiff, evaluating look. "You were never meant to meddle with time."

Kuwabara fisted the dagger still clenched in his big hand, his soul throbbed in response. In all the time he knew Botan, he'd never sensed any negativity from her usual bubbliness. Suddenly, the only feeling he got around her was a deadly threat, like she was prepared to take him down at a moment's notice.

"If I'm messin' with time, why aren't you a statue?"

Botan smiled emptily. "Death is not subject to time, despite what you may think."

"I thought you were justa ferry girl," said Kuwabara.

"And I thought you were just a human," Botan said with a hollow laugh. "Yet here you are, with a power the Gods envy."

Kuwabara tensed up. He could hear the warning in her voice; hear how his grief-driven act had already pissed off some deities. Botan stared at him unwavering and he couldn't tell whether she was friend or foe in this moment. Looking into her pink eyes he asked the question that would tell.

"Are you here to steal my soul?"

Botan appraised him, taking in his strong form, still injured from a mission her higher ups were too busy to see fixed. She despised the system she was stuck in. Watching as children such as Kuwabara and Yusuke fought in deadly fights sickened Botan. Through them, her immortal essence sensed their mortality. Their spirits nearly gliding into her hands at times when death was near. It was torture for Botan to watch over her frail fighting boys. She was never supposed to love her assignment, but it was almost instantaneous when she first met Yusuke at his death. And her love only grew more and more to contain all the added additions to her little group she watched over; her family. She suffered with each wound that befell them; cried at every seemingly insurmountable hardship. A fit punishment for the betrayal the Gods must have known she was capable of.

"No." Her answer did nothing to reassure Kuwabara. "Nor Shizuru's." Kuwabara's shoulders sagged in relief at her words. He let out a weary sigh, rubbing his face with his free hand.

"Kuwabara, you are not the first to possess the ability of time, though you are the first human," Botan began. "Many Gods are threatened that you can distort their creation. Your death has been ordered."

Kuwabara peered at her from between his fingers. "And?"

"And Koenma has arranged for your pardon."

With a grunt Kuwabara leaned against a nearby crate, arms folded over his broad chest. "Guess I owe him one then."

Botan truly smiled then, a bit of a laugh sounding in her words, "Yes, Koenma likes to amass favors. He's got quite a collection going, yourself, Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama being his crown jewels."

Silence grew between them. Hours could have passed the two souls lost in thought; days, weeks. Time was separate from them though, and they lived in the nonmoment, unaffected by the forward pull time has. As long as Kuwabara wielded his soul as a weapon, he had all the time in the world. Eventually he sighed, pushing himself upright.

"Want a soul to take back with you?" Kuwabara said eyeing up the demon by the door.

"That would only be possible if you spared him," said Botan with a shrug. At Kuwabara's confused looked, she further explained. "When souls attack one another, the affects are total. When you kill that demon with your soul dagger, he will cease to exist, in any plane or world. He will be less than nothing."

Kuwabara didn't even pause. "Good." And he walked over to the demon, fisted a bunch of his greasy pitch black hair, yanked his head back and slit his throat open. Instead of a fountain of blood to gush forward, the demon's body flickered. It swelled slightly, like he was just taking in a great lung full of air. The silence exploded into sound as the demon's body burst into nonexistence.

Kuwabara stood, arms still raised in his act of vengeance, a great look of surprise on his face. He took an unsteady breath, letting his arms fall to his side, but still keeping grip on his exposed soul. The calm, cool white-blue it had been previously was marred with streaks of pink. Numbly, Kuwabara thought the color change must not be a good thing. Trembles raced through his body as if he were experiencing a series of cold chills. The space in his chest where his heart normally was felt hollowed out. One look at his sister, alive with a soft smile on her face, was all Kuwabara needed to justify his actions even though he felt so wrong inside.

Kuwabara was gasping for breath now, on the verge of a panic attack. The demon had deserved death; Kuwabara had no qualms with that. But maybe he hadn't warranted the total annihilation of his every being. A new found power and he already felt he'd misused it. Tears ran rapidly down his face. He brought a hand up, the one still clutching his pink tinted soul dagger, to rub at his falling tears. Eyes closed in metal anguish, Kuwabara sniffed delicately. With his eyes closed he did not notice that the pink tainting the pure white-blue of his visible soul was slowly receding with each tear of remorse he shed.

Off to the side, Botan smiled her unusual rueful smile. She did not want Kuwabara to possess the power he did. It was great and many had fallen to it in the past. The strength of the man in front of her, the strength of his character, dazzled Botan. Kazuma Kuwabara was a man of honor and integrity. And he was stronger than all of his teammates combined. Botan knew his might didn't come from his spiritual awareness, nor did it come from the special abilities he has over space and time, though the three worked together to make he a hard opponent to beat from the various missions he went on. No, Botan knew he was the strongest when it came to his humility, his humanity. The fact that he could feel regret for a creature that was not worthy of any was testament to the depths of Kuwabara. It saved him from being overwhelmed by his own rapidly growing powers. Botan had even seen his affect expand to those around him, bettering Yusuke's sense of right and wrong, improving Kurama's emotional and moral scope, and setting a limit on Hiei's brutality.

"What," Kuwabara's voice broke into Botan's train of thought, "was his name?"

"Jukou."

"That name's real ugly."

"Yeah, it suited him."

Kuwabara laughed. It was weak and short, but there was still a small amount of hilarity that Botan could hear in it. She was warmed by his resilience. She knew he could handle this power, and she knew she had to tell him the truth, despite of Koenma's wishes.

"He was sent here. To test you."

"I know. He told me that much."

Botan had to force herself to tell him, fear working against what she knew was right. She was afraid to spur Kuwabara's hate once he knew the reason. His was a friendship she cherished, his affections ones she wished she could return.

"He was sent from Spirit World. Not Koenma!" she added hastily, to Kuwabara's outraged expression. His shoulders relaxed slightly and his face dropped its hurt look. "Koenma was furious when he found out it. That's why he sent me and took care of the repercussion of your actual use of time.

The Gods aren't supposed to control time. Sure they can pause it like you can," she gestured around, "but they can't manipulate it. They're not all powerful like you think."

"Why do I have weird time soul powers then?"

"You were chosen. Not since birth, but years before Yusuke became a spirit detective. It's a wonderful coincidence that you've ended up working with the Spirit World. As to why your ability manifests itself through your soul? Well, the soul is the hardest thing for any being to access. Only a handful have achieved this level of skill in all the history of the universe. "

Kuwabara had a wide eyed look of wonderment on his face. He looked at the part of his soul he held in his hand, moving so differently than spirit energy, more natural, easier almost to the point he forgot he was wielding something so powerful. Really looking at the soul dagger, Kuwabara jerked in surprise to find it as white-blue as when he'd first drawn it. Botan giggled as he gaped at his soul.

"Surprised?"

"Yeah."

"Confused?"

"Definitely."

"You are a kind soul. A human soul. You're mind, body, energy, and soul all work together, repairing whatever's damaged. You'd be surprised how many humans lack the ability to heal their souls, something that's born to all of them and which many lose throughout life. You'd also be surprised to learn how many demons, born without, have been able to achieve this. Of course Yusuke, though it was quite difficult, and Kurama. They had the benefit of being raised in a human environment. Hiei's on the brink of healing his soul."

"Hiei's soul is…hurt?" Kuwabara asked dumbfounded. He knew the hardass little fucker was touched in the head, but he couldn't imagine living in the torment his battered soul had brought him. Suddenly Kuwabara could feel the absence of the damage. On recall, the difference was staggering and Kuwabara wondered how he had missed the change in the first place. He felt a great pity for Hiei. A desire to help the fire demon welled inside him; this need was reflected in his soul with a hard thrum.

Botan didn't bother with a reply. They both knew Hiei was a…complicated individual. The guy spent most of his life hiding his relation from the person he loved the most. Kuwabara thought maybe Hiei would be better off if he learned to love his sister openly instead of hating his mixed blood.

"I guess it's time to get back to reality," said Kuwabara softly. He chuckled at his own pun and Botan grinned, rolling her pink hued eyes.

Kuwabara, unsure of what to do, made to ask Botan, but when he looked her way she was gone. Bewildered, Kuwabara used his failsafe method of winging it to upstart time again. Try one, he flung the dagger at an opposing wall, watching it sail across the room and land with a _thunk_. When he went to cheer he discovered the dagger shining brightly in his hand once more. Try two, he tried to shake it from his hand, but the blade remained glued to his palm and time was still at a stand. Try three, he thought through before acting.

His theory was that if the weapon was a piece of his soul, then it couldn't hurt him and needed to be rejoined with the rest of his soul. So keeping that in mind, Kuwabara steeled himself for his last try, cause this was either going to work like we was hoping or it was going to kill him. He flipped the dagger in his palm to be facing towards himself. Botan's explanation of complete destruction and the live example Jukou's rather dramatic end flooded through his mind. Try as he might he couldn't calm his speeding heart, but Kuwabara was well aware that time, though still, was running out.

He took one deep breath, well aware that it may be his last, and without giving himself to really think out what he was doing, he plunged the blade of his soul hilt deep into his heart. Eyes screwed shut; Kuwabara was expecting a blaring pain similar to when Toguro shoved his fingers into chest. Instead Kuwabara experience the most euphoric sensation, more mind shattering than the best orgasm he'd ever had, though it reminded him of that climatic point in sex only in reverse. He felt the pieces of himself springing together again; melding to one another and filling him with a sense of wholeness and absolute _right_ he hadn't realize he was missing until he got it back.

Kuwabara collapsed to the ground, hands placed lovingly against his beating heart and a smile of mystic understanding claiming his face. Sound rushed back to him. Like on repeat, the explosion of Jukou's demise boomed through the warehouse. All at once his sister let out a shriek of surprise, Keiko stirred restlessly behind him, groaning out Yusuke's name, and Yusuke, Hiei and Kurama not far behind, came barreling in through the doorway screaming for Shizuru to get down as he aimed his spirit gun at an enemy that no longer existed.

The beat of confused silence that followed reminded Kuwabara of what just happened with him, though never occurred for the others. Yusuke's impatience was quick to rise up and break the quiet.

"What the Hell happened? What was that noise? Keiko!" Yusuke shouted out, having spied his love wearily supporting herself on her arms. He rushed forward, passing by Kuwabara as if he weren't even there, and scoped Keiko up into his embrace. "Oh, God, Keiko! Are you alright? _Did those bastards do anything to you?_"

Kuwabara caught the last hushed growl Yusuke spoke and shuddered. He could understand the man's fear. His own capture under Sensui, though brief, was a source of nightmares for him. In the short time within Sensui's lair his body had been used numerously, savagely, by the mad ex-spirit dectective's most disturbed split personality. Ironically, the personality was that of a woman. He still hadn't gotten around to telling anyone about the brutal rapes. The guys, well, they were guys and Kuwabara, though embarrassed and feeling sexist about it, thought the issue was a more feminine matter. And he'd never brought it up to any of the girls or his sister because things just seemed easier that way. He'd already cried about it and gotten over it for the most part within a month or two and he didn't want to go through the hassle of everyone freaking out about it. To Kuwabara it wasn't that much of a big deal. Granted he still got the heebie-jeebies when he thought of it.

He tuned out Yusuke and Keiko's quiet conversation, standing up and nearly running to his sister. Shizuru let out a small laugh as Kuwabara looped his big arms around her waist and spun her off her feet. It wasn't often her brother displayed his love for her in such a physical way, not since his very first mission when he'd come home and swept her off her feet like this. She basked in the feeling, throwing her arms and head in the air and hollering loudly. Kuwabara's laughter joined hers as he whirled around faster and faster. They giggled to each other as he gradually slowed and she slid down his body to the ground once more.

"I'm glad you're alive. You look better with your head on your shoulders."

She found her brothers wording odd, but she agreed with them. "Back at you."

"How's the feeling?"

"Gone."

The two siblings clung to each other in a tight embrace. "That's good."

"I honestly don't have a clue what's going on," Kurama deadpanned. Hiei stood next to him looking equally as confused. Kuwabara broke away from Shizuru, staring so intently at Hiei, the fire demon was beginning to sweat. The kinky haired ginger walked disjointedly over to the short man, never breaking eye contact with him. Hiei staggered back from the weight of Kuwabara suddenly collapsing on him, swarming him in a hug even mightier than what he'd shared with his sister. Kuwabara's massive shoulders shook with sobs.

"Hiei. Oh, Hiei. I'm sorry you're hurting so bad," he wailed. Hiei was wide eyed, awkwardly petting the highest point on the big man's back he could reach.

"It's-it's just a scratch really. It'll heal by the morning's light," said Hiei in reference to the rather nasty looking gash visible on his leg.

"No it won't!" Kuwabara hiccupped, burrowing his face into Hiei's spiked hair. Hiei turned his bewildered eyes to Kurama pleading for help. Kurama merely chuckled fondly. At the sound of Kurama's laugh Kuwabara turned around and seized hold of Kurama's shoulders. Kurama was now the one with the befuddled expression, while Hiei stood back chuckling darkly.

"Kurama, you never died-"

"That's very untrue."

"-but I missed you, you smart sonofabitch. If you were there you could have told me to stab myself in the first place."

"I haven't the faintest idea what your senseless ramblings have been about. But I gather all threats have been eliminated and that everyone has remained safe."

"That happened, too!"

"Kuwabara, I think we should get you and Keiko home to recuperate. Maybe Yukina should also take a look at your head."

Kurama brought up his arms the best he could while still in Kuwabara's grip and felt through his loose curls. "You don't seem to have hit your head," he murmured.

Yusuke popped up beside the two, Keiko cradled bridle style in his arms. "Hey, man. Don't know what you did and it looks like neither do you, but thanks for saving Keiko."

Kuwabara dropped his hold on Kurama and had his mouth open to explain that he didn't save Keiko, he saved Shizuru. And that he was hoping to save Hiei. But the words caught in his throat as he looked the faces of all his friends. He swallowed the words he wanted to say, deciding it best for as little as people to know about his new found ability. "Yeah," he said.

As everyone was headed out the door to head to Genkai's temple for medical attention and to recap on everything, Kuwabara made another split second decision. He reached out and yanked Hiei's hand to keep him from disappearing. Hiei shot his a look of annoyance and curiosity. He was shocked when Kuwabara hunched over him and planted a firm, hot kiss on his mouth. The tingle that ran up his spine was new to Hiei. He couldn't believe his already hot body temperature could spike further until the big palm Kuwabara settled against the small of his back to pull the shorter man closer set flames licking at his skin. Hiei's red gaze was just beginning to flicker shut in bliss to the sensual rhythm Kuwabara had their lips working at, when the ginger pulled back.

"I-I knew your past wasn't the best and neither was mine," Kuwabara gasped, "But I wouldn't want to change a thing, cause it all leads up to you and me, right now.

You don't have to be able to heal. I kinda like you as you are, but if it came to it I'd like you all the same. "

Hiei wore a confused look on his face, his eyebrows scrunched up and eyes squinted. Kuwabara rolled his eyes. "I'm just trying to say, I understand you're not all right," at this Hiei's look hardened and he stubbornly turned his head, "but you don't have to be whole for me to like you, shortstuff."

"Done?" Hiei said facing Kuwabara again. Kuwabara nodded a goofy grin on his face. Hiei snorted and pulled the man down by his collar for a bruising kiss. "If my leg bothers you that much, I'll have Yukina heal it. You don't have to go into speeches."

Kuwabara laughed loudly, throwing his head back in mirth. The smile he wore just about split his face in two when Hiei laced his fingers through Kuwabara's and tugged him out the door, their group of friends nowhere to be found. "Okay," said Kuwabara, still chuckling. He wanted to get the two siblings together anyway; try and force and reconciliation out of the two, so they could start healing their torn souls. Twins were never meant to be so apart from each other, when their souls intermingled. Kuwabara could see that now, could understand. He could move to correct their anguish and maybe it'll lead to mended souls. Or at least better off.


End file.
